Historic events this week from Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, The Beatles, Metallica, Bad Company and Bruce Springsteen
SEPTEMBER 25, 1980: JOHN BONHAM DIES
He had 4 quadruple screwdrivers (16 shots) with breakfast on September 24, and continued to drink heavily through band rehearsals.
Inquest showed he’d had about 40 shots in 24 hours, and choked to death in his sleep.
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SEPTEMBER 25, 2017: TOM PETTY’S FINAL SHOW
A week before his death, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers played their final show at the Hollywood Bowl.
He played all the songs you’d hope to hear including “Free Fallin’”, “Refugee” and “Learning to Fly”.
The last song Tom Petty performed live was “American Girl”.
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SEPTEMBER 26, 1969: THE BEATLES RELEASE ABBEY ROAD
The penultimate Beatles album was actually the last one they recorded.
It’s the #2 best-selling Beatles studio album behind Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
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SEPTEMBER 27, 1986: CLIFF BURTON DIES
While touring Sweden, Metallica’s Cliff Burton was sent flying out of their bus window when the vehicle left the road and flipped.
Tragically, the bus landed on top of Burton, resulting in his death.
He was 24.
In 2009, he was inducted, with Metallica, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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SEPTEMBER 28, 1974: BAD COMPANY RELEASE THEIR DEBUT ALBUM
Comprising members of Free, King Crimson and Mott the Hoople, the supergroup’s self-titled debut contained the classic songs “Can’t Get Enough”, “Ready For Love” and “Bad Company”.
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SEPTEMBER 30, 1982: SPRINGSTEEN’S NEBRASKA
Bruce had intended to follow up The River with another E Street Band record.
He recorded the demos for Nebraska alone, and decided to release them as is, without overdubs.
Despite not releasing any singles in the US, the album peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and remains a classic in his catalog.
